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THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG
by Lisa OH!
 "Oh, what a baby!" "Oh, what a treat!"
"Sarah, you're lucky! Baby Sam is so sweet!"
How could I feel lucky? I felt yucky instead-
All because of that baby squirming in bed.
Visitors coming, kids touching my toys,
The house was filled up with crying and noise.
All I wanted was sleep, and just to be free,
And to wake up with everything as it should be.
The three of us used to fit nicely in bed,
Not an inch left to spare for his hairy head.
Now Mom was too sore, I couldn't sit on her lap,
She made us lie down when he took his nap.
But the thing that finally brought me to tears
Was knowing that he'd be around for years.
"Sarah - " asked Mom, "What has you upset?
You have no need to cry, there's no need to fret.
There's nothing wrong here, it's completely okay,
Calm down and relax, let's have a good day."
"There is something wrong."
I knew it was true-
"How would you feel if I changed a new mom for you?"
My "sweet" little brother -
I wasn't a fan
I had to come up with some sort of plan . . .
"If we can return the things that we've bought,
Let's return him, let's give it a shot."
"Sarah," said Mom, "I am shocked to the core,
You seemed so excited, so excited before.
There is nothing wrong, everything is all right
Let's try not to fuss, let's try not to fight.
Just give it some time, be patient and wait
Soon you will think that your brother is great."
It made me feel mad, it made me feel nervy,
That a brother could turn my life topsy-turvy.
There was something so great with a family of three,
Why on earth would they want anybody but me?
There's The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Little Bears,
Three Peas in a Pod and the Three Musketeers.
I knew I was naughty creating a fuss,
But he was him, and we were US!
When Daddy came home, I was ready to blow
There was nowhere to hide, I had nowhere to go.
"Come on, Daddy, let's go have a chat,
I'd like you to hear where my feelings are at."
So we went to my room, we found a place,
Far away from wee Mister Squishy Face.
"You know," I said, "I feel sad to the core,
That no one comes to see ME anymore.
It's just Mommy and baby, baby and Mom,
What about ME? I'm feeling quite numb.
I was here first, I think to myself,
How could they put ME away on a shelf?
Mommy keeps saying 'There is nothing wrong',
But the last few days have been way too long.
His cries are annoying, his diapers are gross-
How can Mom even stand him sleeping so close?"
"I know how you feel, Sarah, what you're saying is true,
And sometimes I even feel that way too.
With Sam in the spotlight, the shadow's on us
So it's hard to be good guys, without any fuss.
But what can we do when we want center stage -
Minus the tantrums, minus the rage?"
"Maybe we could sing our own special song,
We'll sing it whenever there is something wrong."
"Brilliant idea, my smart little girl,
Let's get to singing, let's give it a whirl . . ."
If you have a baby that's making you blue,
Try out my song - it may work for you!
Sprinkle, Sprinkle baby's butt
Don't get in a baby rut
When you give the baby care
Don't forget that I'm still here
Sprinkle, Sprinkle baby's butt
Don't get in a baby rut.
*
Although my life was never the same,
At times it was better than before Sam came.
It did take some time, but in less than a year,
I was mostly happy with our fourth musketeer.
Illustration by Lorna Schwenk
Read by Zoe Johnson
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Chameleon:
UBC's Journal of Children's Literature
Mail: Chameleon C/O UBC Creative Writing
Buchanan Room E462, 1866 Main Mall Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1
Email: Helen Kuk --
helenkuk@hotmail.com
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